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Double Hourglass Blocks the EASY way!

September 15, 2009

First off…things always look better in my head than they do typed up, so please try one block and see how it works for you before cutting up all your fabric. Also, if your a perfectionist this method might not be for you, some of your points and seams won’t perfectly match up…but it will take you about 1/4 of the time of other methods. Enjoy and let me know if this works for you!

Cut a piece of heavy weight card stock into a square 8″ big.

To figure out how to make different block sizes: Figure out the finished block size you want, say…5″ so you add an inch to that and cut your template 6″ square. Now you’ll have to figure out how big to make your strips. So divide 6 in half ( the size of your template) …so you want your finished double strip after its sewn to be 3″. Now the tricky part is figuring out how big to make your strips including the seam, my seams are usually .5″ ( 1/4″ + 1/4″) so add that to 3″ (how big your finished strip should be) Which leaves you with 3.5″ which you divide in half and that’s how big to make your strips….. 1.75″ wide. That sounds right in my head but beats me if it will really work! Try one first just in case!

If you want to make this with a Jelly Roll, you would cut your template 9″ square and it would leave you with a 8″ block. But again….I haven’t actually tried it so make sure you try it before cutting up all your fabric!

Out of curiosity only, how do you do this the hard way? (This is the only method I had heard of.) BTW I own an acrilic (sp?) template/ruler that works the way your card stock template works… I use it for setting triangles when I make on-point quilts.

This is a great tutorial! Thanks for doing it up for us. I'm actually glad that your seams don't match and your blocks aren't perfect. Mine never are and i sometimes feel like I'm the only one. Everyone else's quilts always look perfect. It's nice to know I'm not the only imperfect one. 🙂

Thankyou so much for this! I've been looking for a cheer-me-up project that wasn't too taxing for my exhausted brain but would keep me busy. This is perfect – it's easy, looks great and is speedy enough for quick-ish results but will still keep my hands busy.

I just tried this with 2.5" strips–I cut the template from a 9" square, got 8 block quarters from a strip set, and when my blocks were sewn together, they ranged from 7.75-8", so I just trimmed them down to 7.5". I've been looking for a pattern for my Hello Betty Retro jelly roll, and this is officially it! Thanks!

Just thought you should know I just made this tutorial and it was GREAT! Came together easily. I did 2" strips, so the template was a 7" square. Blocks were about 6 1/4", so I trimmed them to 6" (unfinished). Love it!

I have a question: if you used two colors — say, white and orange — and you followed these instructions, but assembled the triangles into two types of squares: one with the four triangles making a white square on the inside and another with the four triangles making a white border…(do you follow me?) I think you'd end up with a pattern looking like the orange quilt (which I LOVE and I don't even like orange that much). Would this be easier than the way you assembled the orange quilt?

I just started this quilt because I found a 5.00 jelly roll at tuesday morning. I did not use a common fabric as you did in your tutorial. I am afraid it will look WAYYY too busy when I start putting the blocks together. Would it look too weird if I sewed a sashing border to the blocks? any feedback would be fantastic.

Hi. I made this quilt and added a tutorial on my blog – linking to your site regarding how to do the ironing for this project. I found the ironing made all the difference in the world. You can see it on http://www.madewithmytwohands.blogspot.com

I love your tutorials. This quilt is so fresh and sunny. Missouri Star Quilt Co has another method to make something similar. I always like learning quick tricks. BTW the word inseam only refers to the inner seam on a pair of pants, usually interchangeable with someone's inner leg measurement or crotch to ankle. It isn't used interchangeably with a regular old seam. Thought you might like to know. It kinda throws some funny imagery into your quilt tutorial!

I had to make these for a block swap recently. I just loved the simple but very attractive quilt they made. I shared it with my Bitch & Stitch Group….They all loved it to. We will all be starting one at our first get together for 2013. Thanks for the great tut.Cheers Tanya

The Etsy shop has closed that you have listed at the top, for the templates. I wonder if she's selling them some place else? Would love to try this pattern for a baby quilt, but making templates from card stock, they tend to keep getting smaller as I use them!

I would like to know where I could possibly get the triangle templates. The Etsy shop you mentioned is no longer open. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am unclear about the size of the triangle templates you are using. What is the start of the square? I’ve read it over and over and can’t seem to see where you state the size of the original square?